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Would you live at 13 Black Cat Lane NW?
I ran into something the other day that I hadn't really thought of during my time in real estate.
I'm currently working with a lovely family looking to buy their first home and they are particularly interested in a townhouse complex where listings are being snapped up in a day with multiple offers.
Except for one home, which has been on the market now for almost a month with no takers. I've been inside and it is a nice home.
These folks won't go near the place because the house number is 13. Not sure if others looking at this house are backing off for the same reason but these folks have got triskaidekaphobia bad.
While we were discussing this they also told me the number 4 is also considered bad luck because it sounds too much like the word 'death' in Cantonese and Mandarin. Did not know that.
The number 8 is considered lucky, which is why you see it in so many listing prices.
In some towns and cities they won't allow the number 13 to be used in new developments and certainly you see a lot of buildings without the 13th floor. I read also that in Vancouver they had buildings go up without a fourth floor before it had to be outlawed.
I just did a search just now and in Alberta there are plenty of 13s available to purchase right now if you want one. As of April 22 there were 34 active listings in the province with that address. As well, there were 26 sales of homes with that address in the province over the past 30 days.
Apparently, a lot of people aren't bothered by the number 13.
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What happens if your neighbour doesn't pay their condo fees?

I'm working with a super nice family right now, trying to find them their first home. They are looking at townhomes in the south of Calgary. This question came up yesterday:

What happens if another owner in the complex isn't paying their condo fees? Does it affect the other owners?

Here's the answer, which I pulled off the website of highly-respected Calgary real estate law firm Kahane Law (www.kahanelaw.com) that answers this question.

The condo corporation can do a number of things to collect what you owe, such as:

  • ask the condo owner’s mortgage company to repay the amount owed, who will add the debt to the total mortgage amount owed;
  • ask the tenant in the owner’s unit to pay the monthly rent to the corporation to pay for your condo fees;
  • file a caveat against the unit owner’s title;
  • charge interest on the amount owed (up to 18% per year!);
  • sue the owner for the amount owed, including the interest and full legal fees; and
  • foreclose on the owner’s title (take possession of condo unit ending your condominium ownership).

Also, if you owe money to your condo corporation for 30 days or more, you can lose your right to vote on important matters that impact the condo building, the Kahane Law blog post says.

Any real estate questions you want answered call, text or email me and I'll find out.

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